Urban beekeeping is reemerging as a popular pastime for city-dwellers but a stack of conventional hive boxes won't generally fit in a third-story apartment. Philips' new urban beehive concept, however, aims to bring a colony to every balcony in your town.

The hive consists of a smart-looking central chamber pre-loaded with honeycomb frames. Bees enter through an entrance above the potted flower and can be observed through the glass partition a la ant farms. The pull cord at the bottom releases smoke to calm the colony while you collect honey. Because filling your home with a few thousand pissed-off poisonous insects is generally not recommended.

Given that bee colonies worldwide are on the decline, a legion of these urban beehives could help stave off the population crash. Plus—free honey, free honey for everybody! [CNET]

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